The Gods
by myladytitanos
Summary: AU. Percabeth, war, apocalypse. The world is a different place. Ever since her family was killed in the war when she was just seven, Annabeth has been hiding. Everyone she's ever known or loved is dead, thanks to the wicked Empire that has taken over. But then Annabeth meets the Gods, a rebel alliance group, and she finds herself falling for their leader, Percy Jackson.
1. Home Sweet Home

**Prologue**

Annabeth couldn't breathe. Her vision blurred. Her ears rang. She was wheezing, but not as hard as she used to. Her lungs were stronger now from all these years, along with the rest of her. Physically and mentally. Her heart pounded a mile a minute in her chest as her sore, aching feet pounded the dirty ground at the same speed. She was closer to slipping in and out of consciousness than she liked to admit. She was covered in a mixture of blood and sweat and dirt. It fell into her eyes along with a stray, frizzy tangled blonde curl. She tried to push it away with the back of her hand, but the dirt from her hand just made it worse.

She knew exactly what was chasing her, and she knew exactly what would happen if she stopped running.

Yet she was grinning like crazy. Maybe she _was_ crazy. She waited for that day to come. Maybe it had.

She didn't look back. That's the one thing she never did. That was the one thing she was told to never do.

 _Just don't, look back, Annie,_ Thalia had whispered.

 _Don't look back._

* * *

 **Chapter One: Home Sweet Home**

 **Alright so this story is very boring so far. I put in too much crappy detail and all that. My writing gets boring. But I promise this is just the beginning and I have way more planned out for this. It gets more interesting, with plenty of Percabeth later on. Please just give it a chance. Pretty pretty please!**

Annabeth was proud of her fort. She had found the perfect spot for it. There were plenty of places to hide in the Wasteland, an area right on the edge of what used to be New York. The Wasteland was an entire destroyed half of New York. The other half in shiny perfect condition was going to be the empire,

The sky wasn't blue in the Wasteland. It was constantly gloomy, dull and gray, an unhealthy cloud of gas and pollution hanging in the ground. Speaking of pollution, the ground there wasn't living earth anymore. It was dust, ash, and trash. It was a wasteland, a junkyard, still torn from the war that happened there years before.

Lots and lots of places to hide. Which of course made it too obvious of a place for Annabeth, but where else did she have to go? She had at first hoped maybe she'd run into someone else, someone like her, but no such luck. She abandoned the hope years ago when she was twelve after Thalia died and left her on her own.

It was built under rubble, a makeshift shed in an old collapsed sewer. Annabeth crawled under a pile of trash, two old dismembered cars, and heaps of metal the size of a school bus. The entrance was convenient when she was twelve, but now she was bigger. She located the hole in the ground covered by a sheet of metal and dropped down into the sewer below.

She trekked through the trash floating in the little bit of water still left on the echoing cold ground. The water was from the last time it had rained, a rare occasion and Annabeth's favorite day this year. It was September, getting colder now. It had rained in April. At least it didn't snow in the Wasteland. Annabeth didn't have to worry about that, but in got unbelievably cold, especially when you live in the sewers. That's what happens when you mess with the environment. Annabeth would give anything for global warming right now.

She shivered already as she flopped down onto an empty crate that she used as her seating and tossed her newest catch to the side. A bag of apples. To her, it was the best thing ever, the best she'd done in weeks. It was all she could manage anyway. Stealing from the Empire wasn't easy, but Annabeth would rather die than live under their control, like those no brained slaves of theirs.

If there was one thing Annabeth was really good at it was staring. She'd perfected her stare by keeping her eyes locked on the graffiti directly across from her spot on the sewer wall. She could stare daggers at someone just as well as she could expertly stab someone with the real dagger sheathed on her belt. She read the words every day. Somehow they gave her motivation.

They called themselves the Gods, the only assurance Annabeth had that she wasn't the only one out there. They were a rebel alliance group. No one was sure how many of them there were. They were never seen, never caught. They were ghosts. The only trace they ever left was the wreckage of their attacks on the Empire and their mark, just like their mark that Annabeth stared at now. She wasn't sure what kind of attack was led there, probably some kind of bombing, which was what the Gods usually did.

The Empire refused to give the Gods their attention. They referred to them as the rats. Just a pest, an annoyance, but those with hope saw the Gods' real deadliness. They were more powerful than the Empire would ever admit.

Annabeth's cold gray eyes scoured over the words one more time before grabbing an apple from her bad. She inhaled it quickly and grabbed her blanket, neatly folded aside. She was too tired and exhausted to care how dirty she was or still hungry and snuggled down into her makeshift bed of straw, yawning loudly.

* * *

Annabeth woke up to nothing except the quiet drip of water. Nothing new. She rolled out of bed and tossed on her raggedy but still soft jacket. Today was the day.

Today was her nineteenth birthday.

There was no way she could've forgotten, because of the tally marks she scratched into the wall every day. She still kept up with those. The first years were done by Luke's hand, then Thalia's hand, then hers for the past seven years. She didn't really need to. Whenever she snuck into Manhattan, which was the capital center of the empire, blending in by pretending to be one of the citizens slaving around under the Empire, she saw the time and date displayed on the screen of every giant skyscraper, along with brainwashing ads and things she refused to look at or listen to.

It was her birthday, and she was going to treat herself. On a particular day in last June, she had found a building. An old abandoned library on the edge of Manhattan. It was a huge stone building, boarded up with wood and parts of the building crumbled. It wasn't guarded or anything, even though it was one of the only original remaining buildings in Manhattan, besides the Empire state building. Even that had been turned into Kronos's personal home. Kronos, the man who was the Darth Vader of this new Empire.

Under the cover of night, Annabeth was going ahead to sneak in, take her pick of all the books she could find, shove them in her backpack, and hurry back. At first she hadn't been sure whether she should go at day or night. Day she could blend in with crowds more easily and be less obvious, but once she started leaving the city and traipsing into rubble filled areas of New York, the parts that were bombed in the war, she realized that would look suspicious. It would be hard to sneak around in such an empty place in broad daylight. She would just have to go under night's cover of darkness and take her chances sneaking through the city.

Annabeth climbed to the surface and squinted at the bits of sunlight managing to make it through the gray hanging in the air. Weird. She didn't feel older. Maybe today she'd rob a hotdog stand. There was no real plan for the meantime. She'd just decided to get some fresh air or somewhat fresh air.

She spotted a strange dot in the sky. It didn't stand out from the gray. Actually, it blended in perfectly. The Empire's top notch technology kept it camouflaged perfectly. Luke had taught her to spot them. A slightly moving blur in the sky gave it away.

It was also Luke who had found her with Thalia in that ally. Her house had been bombed on the other side of New York. It was part of the rubble from the war. Her family had been killed. Thalia and Luke's families had been killed too. Annabeth was only seven, and the three had become family. Thalia was only a teenager, Luke a bit older. They'd learned how to survive. Then worse days came, and even worse after that.

Annabeth didn't think about the blood. She missed Thalia and Luke, but she refused to think about the blood. Denial was her best coping mechanism. The emotion from seven years ago was still building up in her. She was a ticking time bomb that would explode into a mess of tears, but in this world, she didn't have time for emotions.

Annabeth frowned at the dot. An Empire chopper. They usually didn't come out to the Wasteland. The only reason she could think of for them being there was some sort of security scare in the Empire, which was bad for Annabeth today. If that was the case Manhattan would be on lockdown and under tight watch. She'd never make it anywhere without being caught.

The chopper got closer and closer until it was dangerously close. Annabeth sighed and ducked back under the wreckage over the sewer entrance. The city was on tight lockdown, so now Annabeth had to be too. She'd been running from the Empire and its hardheaded soldiers called Screamers, and for a good reason, for so long she knew the drill.

 **I know it sucks. I didn't go over it, so feel free to point out any mistakes, (haha thanks for pointing at me while I typed that, sis, real sweet of yah).**


	2. Annabeth Loves Libraries

**Chapter Two: Annabeth Loves Libraries**

 **It's sort of starting to get interesting? Maybe? I'm never sure what people think of my writing, but if you've stuck around this long thank you so much! I promise I'll try not to let you down. I know ANs can be super annoying sometimes so I almost never read them whenever I read fanfiction (and trust me, I'm always reading fanfiction). OKAY BYE ENJOY IF YOU CAN.**

Annabeth liked to consider herself patient. She was going crazy waiting for dark. Trying not to get killed might've had something to do with it, but then again she was always trying not to get herself killed.

She'd been hiding silently in her little haven all day but fled the sewer the moment she heard their footsteps. Annabeth had already gone into her mini lockdown, which consisted of collapsing the rubble over the sewer to lock herself in. She knew of all the tunnels and exits that she had explored down there oh so many times. She had that advantage over them.

She'd been this close to being caught hundreds of times before, and each time was just like the last, but she'd never truly get used to it. Annabeth was sure her pounding heart and heavy breathing could be heard from a mile away as she stared up and the sewer's curved ceiling, hearing their engines and voices and footsteps.

After snatching up her backpack, her sack of food rations, and her messenger bag with some old keepsakes, she glanced back at the tally marks and words on the wall. She shoved aside an old giant block of concrete. A spider went scurrying from its home underneath. She hadn't touched it since she put it in front of that spot on the wall when Thalia died.

Their names carved into the stone wall. Annabeth took her bronze dagger from her belt, the one given to her by Luke and Thalia, regretting already what she was about to do. She scratched out the names, making sure they were unreadable.

You'd probably expect tears in her eyes. But there was nothing in the stormy gray. They were cold and emotionless with, along with a guarded expression.

She added about thirty more tally marks to her wall. That should throw them off.

Annabeth sheathed her dagger and read for one last time the Gods words on the wall. It was a lot like all of their other graffiti she had seen in their attack aftermaths, but this one she felt was different. They usually wrote giant words saying things about the wrath of the gods or how the gods have returned and a lot like that. Sometimes they didn't even say anything about the Gods, but you always knew when they had left behind their legacy. It was always in the exact same all-caps handwriting

Somehow, Annabeth felt that this time, the words she read every day, were different.

If only she knew she was right.

She was wondering now how such a dark line could've given her so much hope over the years. She whispered them to herself before she took off down the sewer tunnel, in the opposite direction of the hole that Screamers were breaking open.

WHO SAID IMMORTALITY MEANT NEVER DYING?

* * *

Annabeth had explored the sewer tunnels millions of times before. She knew every inch of them. What else was she supposed to do when bored? She had them mapped out on a piece of cloth she kept in her left leather boot, just for emergencies like these. It wasn't like Annabeth needed it, though. Every path, turn, and exit was engrained in her brain. She had a special appreciation for architecture. Sure, she hated the Empire, but they built some pretty wicked buildings. Sewers were architecture too. In buildings she saw she could close her eyes and envision the blueprints, every inch of it diagrammed, every measurement.

She still needed to hurry, though. It was only a matter of time before they sent scouts to find all possible exits and block them, as soon as they found evidence of her existence being down there for too long.

She'd already gone long far enough to lose them under the surface. She finally reached the end of one tunnel and spotted the ladder leading up into a covered opening. Pulling herself to the stop of it, she lifted up the cover and peeked out. She saw darkness. The faint glow of moonlight managing to break through to earth revealed her to be in the city. It was completely empty.

It had felt weird to see New York the way it was the first time Annabeth had gone out, after Thalia had died, after being protected in that sewer fort by them for so long. New York was usually fully of shining light and busy, bustling crowds 24/7. But the Empire had placed a strict curfew on the city. After 10, anyone with a light on or outside of their home would be strictly punished.

Annabeth marveled at how fast she'd gotten there. She'd never actually checked where all the exits went, just that they were there. If the sewer really went all the places she never mapped, she realized she could actually get around underground with no trouble. While avoiding the subways, of course.

There were cameras everywhere. Annabeth had been taught by Luke and Thalia how to spot those too, even though they were nearly invisible. No doubt there were Screamers and Droids infesting the city more than normal tonight. Something major had happened, and once word got out about Annabeth it would get even worse. She had to get out of there, but not above ground.

Like previously stated, Annabeth was good at architecture. She could see the mapping and blueprints of the sewer in her head. If she shut her eyes tight and saw the sitting too based on where she was at this point, she could guess the right turns she'd have to make to get to the library.

A smug feeling rising in her chest, she closed the sewer again quietly and hopped off the ladder, jogging down a tunnel in the direction she felt was right.

One of the main things Thalia and Luke had always been concerned with for Annabeth was her education. As previously stated, she had only been seven when the apocalypse started. So they took it to themselves teaching Annabeth everything they knew. One day Luke, after sneaking out to get them food rations, had returned with two loaves of bread and three battered library textbooks. They were a little bit too advanced for her at first, but Annabeth had literally forced herself to become smart to understand them.

Then every week either Thalia or Luke would return to the base with a brand new book for Annabeth. Sometimes a children's classic, like Charlotte's Web, or an encyclopedia, or a textbook, or a biography (Annabeth grew an appreciation for Peg Kehret's autobiography because of that). One time even a steamy romance novel when Luke hadn't been paying attention. Thalia smacked him over the head with it for that. Annabeth was pretty sure Thalia had secretly kept the book for herself, though.

Annabeth loved the books, and Thalia and Luke had always loved watching her face light up with pure joy when she received and read them. Annabeth begged them to tell her where they were getting the books from. They said they wouldn't tell her until she was old enough to go out. They didn't want her trying to get to the books one day and getting hurt. One of the things Annabeth had always found annoying when she was little but appreciated at a later date: Thalia and Luke were overprotective like she was their own daughter.

Thalia died before Annabeth ever knew where they got the books from.

Seeing the crumbling name of the tall stone building looming over her, she knew now. That name. Manhattan King's Public Library. She recognized that name. Maybe it was on one of those books, Annabeth wasn't sure how she knew, but she knew.

Luckily the sewer had taken her right outside of the library. She wove through some of the demolished cars still in the parking lot and found an uncovered space in one of the lower boarded up windows. Someone had done a crappy job of nailing up the boards, which was how Annabeth knew the place was closed and abandoned before the war. Strange.

She used her foot to smash in the part of uncovered window because of a) the glass wasn't a very good kind and very old and b) Annabeth was strong. She had plenty of experience in the area of smashing things.

Annabeth crawled through and looked around. The place was stuffy, despite the giant hole in the roof that had gone through the whole building. Guessing by seeing the outside, Annabeth would've said it was about four big stories tall. She was right. She could see each of the floors clearly, because of the giant reoccurring hole. Something had blown through this place.

She set off in search of the stairs to the teens and adult sections on the third and fourth floors, which wasn't hard to do. She smiled as she went and couldn't help snatching two children's classics off the first and second floors to stuff in her backpack. There was a version of Robin Hood and Goodnight Moon.

She reached the third floor and went crazy. She knew she would have to travel light, but couldn't help herself. Hell, it was her birthday. She could do whatever she wanted. Besides, why not even live in the library? She couldn't go back to the sewers, not anymore. Too late for that. Yeah. She liked that idea, living in the library. An endless supply of books for reading. She would never get bored.

She sauntered through the library, snatching anything that looked good off the shelves. She had a good heavy backpack before she found a title that brought back memories pounding into her head. It was sat next to two others just like it, two old battered copies. Animal Farm by George Orwell. Annabeth almost chuckled to herself, thinking how she would kill to see George Orwell looking at the world now. That book related to what Annabeth knew what was really going on in the Empire today, just like the characters from the book went through.

At first, there was innocence. With the war, old leaders were overthrown, and a new rose from the ashes. At first, there was democracy. The people enjoyed themselves. Then Napolean's plan came into play, just like how Kronos, the wicked man who ruled the Empire, realized what power was like. Then there was the slow taking over, hiding the cruel things they did with pretty lies and euphemisms, hiding the nasty behind a thin mask of pretty that only few could see through.

And that was exactly what was happening at the exact moment. Sad thing was, too distracted by work, too distracted by the magazines and entertainment and flashy lights, the people of the Empire had no idea what was going on. Like Annabeth always thought, brainwashed. She had called them brainless sometimes, but now she realized that was wrong. It wasn't their fault. They were being controlled.

Annabeth opened the cover of Animal Farm and looked inside. Her eyes held a certain expression they hadn't held in a long time as she looked down at the inside cover. She remembered Thalia brought her that book on her twelfth birthday, telling the younger girl how she'd read it in eighth grade. Her literature teacher had forced her too, but Thalia fell in love with the book and its meaning. Annabeth had read it and treasured it, feeling the same way.

She smiled, an expression that hadn't filled her features for a long time, as she ran her fingers over the Manhattan King's Public Library sticker inside of it and the little card for those who checked it out. She thought sadly of the copy that Thalia had given her. The one Annabeth had left behind under her crate back at the sewer fort, along with the rest of the old library books.

The short-lived smile dropped from her face.

When she realized her mistake it was too late.

She felt a hand cover her mouth, smothering her words, pulling her into darkness.

 **Honestly please you should really read Animal Farm. By the way I ALREADY HAVE A REVIEW. I FEEL LIKE IM TALKING TO YOU PERSONALLY HI. okay that was a little weird and i need to chill, but literally that one simple little review made my whole day. Maybe even my whole week. Thank you thank you thank you. AND SOMEONE ADDED ME TO THEIR STORY ALERT SUBSCRIPTIONS. LORD BLESS ALL OF YOU. you made me feel like writing up another crappy chapter immediately. Thank you thats all bye haha *awkward laughter, backing away into the shadows***

 **I need to stop.**


	3. Screamers and Kidnappers

**Chapter Three: Screamers And Kidnappers**

 **IM SO SORRY I DIDN'T UPDATE. My family moved on new year's eve and we haven't had internet since, but we're getting it tomorrow. I'm at mcdonald's right now.**

 **Sorry about OOCness. I'm very very very bad at writing characters in their naturally personalities. I know, I hate things being OOC too. Here's another chapter, sorry if it's sucky. I had a difficult time writing this one for some reason. It's kinda just a filler and very short. I've been trying for 5k words. No such luck.**

 **Oh, and warning, there's slight cussing. That's why this is rated T.**

Annabeth wasn't an idiot. That was for sure. This was one of the most classic 'I'm kidnapping you' moves. Thalia had trained her in how to fight, making her practice over and over again in fighting with her dagger, and with nothing but herself. The older girl had become very strict in that after Luke died. Annabeth knew exactly how to escape from this situation.

Luckily there was no chloroform. She was still conscious. There was just a single firm hand tightly over her mouth, another around her waist. There would probably be a rope around her wrists next. She had to act fast, although she thought it strange the Screamers would take her down like this.

She could already see her whole life flashing before her eyes in the pitch blackness. She'd dropped her flashlight, which was now only a pale beam illuminating the floor.

She pictured the days before the war and the Empire, her childhood, her family. Memories she had chosen to abandon when she left her home to fend for herself. She missed her dad, even her unbearable stepmom and siblings.

She saw her seven-year-old self running from Screamers, hefting a hammer, backed up against that alley wall, weak but determined to crush anything that came too close. But instead of seeing Screamers, she saw two teenagers with kind eyes who eventually took her in.

Then Annabeth watched Luke be dragged away by the dogs that resembled wolves, his arm missing, drowning in blood. They were Screamer dogs, five of them, well trained to sniff out anything out of line and attack. Thalia and Annabeth had made it high enough on the heap of wreckage to avoid them, but Luke wasn't fast enough. He'd taken all his time to help them.

Then there was Annabeth and Thalia and all the nights alone together, sobbing their hearts out with each other. Then soon Thalia was gone too, holding off two Screamers without their guns, fighting bravely with a single spear, just so Annabeth could escape.

No. Annabeth couldn't go there in her mind. _Wouldn't_ go there.

She dragged herself back to the current moment, reburying the memories. One of the easiest ways to get out of this type of hold was aiming for the groin. She could tell her attacker was female just by the hand, so that wouldn't be very effective. Her hands were being held together by someone else's too behind her back. Whoever was restraining her was just as strong as Annabeth was and Annabeth was strong. Very strong. She prided herself on that.

Annabeth's attacker released her and shoved her to the ground hard. She tried to jump up, but she was shoved down again, this time by someone else with larger hands and stronger arms. Definitely male. Annabeth tried to fight back, but in the dark, it was nearly impossible. The male fought back and finally resumed the female's position of a hand over her mouth and an arm around her waist.

"Will you stop?" hissed a voice. The male was whispering in her ear. "The Screamers are going to hear you!"

Annabeth stopped struggling for only a moment. Whoever these people were, they definitely weren't Screamers. Good. That meant they were easier to fight. They were still a threat.

Annabeth bit the hand over her mouth. The hand still didn't move until hesitantly a few seconds later.

"Will you let me go?" she barked back, stilling herself completely now.

"If you promise to be quiet, yes." He released her.

Immediately Annabeth reached for her flashlight, but the female snatched it up and turned it off. "No light," she said. "That's like shooting off a flare, begging them to come kill us. They're only two floors below us, moving fast."

"How the hell do you see anything then?" Annabeth asked.

"Nico has a special talent for seeing in the dark," said the female, referring to the male, who was apparently named Nico.

"What the hell do you guys think you're even doing here?" Annabeth muttered, trudging past them.

Nico grabbed her arm and yanked her back. "Saving your ass."

She was close to punching him but decided not to. "So you guys aren't Screamers?" Annabeth asked slowly. Stupid question. It was more of a statement, though. She still couldn't trust them anyway, but maybe make a short alliance. Funny how all these years she'd begged to find others like her, but the moment she did she felt threatened. People always want what they don't have, and when they have it they don't want it anymore.

The girl chuckled lightly. "No. I think we're on the same side. The name's Reyna. That's Nico."

"Annabeth."

"Now we need to get out of here. We've got friends behind the building."

"But how do we get out without crossing the Screamers?" Annabeth questioned. She took a few steps toward the nearest section of the whole revealing all the way down. The place was crawling with them. They were making their way up. She couldn't really see them in their black, almost SWAT team-like uniforms. The only thing that gave them away was their shiny helmets and night vision gear.

"Easy," answered Reyna. "Out the window."

* * *

Annabeth's backpack had been stripped off of her and thrown to the grown from Reyna earlier. After making sure all was in proper order, including her new books, she slid it on again and adjusted it. This wasn't just any backpack. It was one of those huge hiking backpacks that she'd stolen a long time ago when she was thirteen from a store window. She was never sure why it was there. It wasn't like anyone in the Empire was going to be hiking anytime soon.

The moonlight streaming out of the window guided Annabeth to it, where Reyna and Nico were tying off their long rope. She could see Reyna more than Nico. He seemed to be wearing all black. Darkness almost emanated from him. They both looked about Annabeth's age, Nico maybe a bit younger.

Annabeth stepped beside them and peeked out the window. It was a long way down, but she wasn't scared. She wouldn't let herself be scared. She'd make it down as well enough as Nico and Reyna.

She wasn't really sure what she'd do after this. Maybe part separate ways with them and go find another place to build her new fort. The library location was compromised. She couldn't really imagine herself going with Nico and Reyna, but a small part in the back of her head insisted it. It wouldn't be too bad to have some company, even though she was used to being alone.

"You first, Annabeth," offered Reyna, stepping aside.

Annabeth shook her head. She didn't trust them enough for that. "No, you. I'll go second." If she went first, they could ditch her or kill her. If she went last, they could still do the same. Second was her best option.

Reyna didn't say anything. She slid out the window, gripping the rope tightly with her feet against the outside wall of the building. She walked down it, lowering herself in little jumps too just like a rock climber would, as if she'd done this a million times before. She made it down the whole four stories and jumped onto the ground, letting go of the rope.

It was Annabeth's turn. She glanced over at Nico, who looked bored. At this angle she could see him well, his dark hair hanging in his tired black eye that bore heavy circles beneath them. He looked like he hadn't slept in 90 years and/or had risen from the grave. He was deathly pale. Something strapped to his back gleamed at her. A sword, she realized. A pitch black, long and deadly object. She forced herself to look away.

She tugged the rope twice as a test. Seemed pretty secure. She slid out the window fearlessly and followed Reyna's example. If she had even hesitated, made a mistake, or was afraid for a second, she didn't show it. She hopped off when she was about two yards from the ground and landed on her feet perfectly like a cat.

Silently the two girls waited for Nico. Annabeth watched him almost fly down. He finally hit the ground. From the bottom, he yanked on the rope and it all came tumbling down.

Annabeth looked at him wide eyed. He shrugged. "I loosened it on my turn," he explained. "The Screamers would be seeing the rope right now, and they'd be on our tail I five seconds flat."

"Come on," hissed Reyna. "Frank and Hazel are waiting." Annabeth guessed Frank and Hazel were the friends that had been referred to earlier as waiting on the other side of the libraries.

Reyna led them around the wide building in a hurry, but this was Annabeth's time to study the girl in the moonlight. The first thing noted was the dagger on her belt. She had long dark hair woven in a single braid and matching piercing brown eyes. She was tan and had a pretty but toughened, like she'd been through a lot, something she shared with Nico. Something all three of them had.

When they turned to corner, Annabeth spotted two more teens that were leaning against a building. One seemed the youngest out of all of them, maybe only thirteen or fourteen. She had mocha colored skin and pretty but wild brown curls. Her young gold eyes glittered at Annabeth. This had to be Hazel. The girl had a dagger on her belt as well, but it was a different kind. Annabeth recognized it from a book. It was called a spatha. Apparently, these people had a thing for swords and knives.

The guy, Frank, was tall, taller than all of them, and buffer than most sixteen-year-olds usually were. He seemed like he was Asian to Annabeth. His black hair was in a buzz cut. He had dark eyes, but not piercing or pained like Reyna or Nico. He didn't have a dagger or a sword like the others. Instead, he had a bow and a quiver full of deadly arrows slung over his shoulders.

The two stood strangely close before Annabeth realized they must've been dating. She knew quite enough about body language.

Frank studied Annabeth closely as she approached, but not mistrustfully. He flicked his gaze back to Reyna. "Got it all set up?" he asked her.

Reyna nodded. "No Screamers on our trail either, but we brought a new friend. She's on our side, I think."

Annabeth wasn't really sure herself about that.

"I'm Frank. This is Hazel," Frank introduced. He held out a hand from Annabeth to shake. Hazel smiled and waved. Annabeth was internally shocked and stared down at Frank's had blankly.

"Enough chitchat," interrupted Nico. "We need to hurry it up. If we're late again, Percy might freak."

"He's just worried about us," Hazel said softly.

Annabeth almost asked _Late for what?_ but thought better of it.

"Nico's right," cut in Reyna. She turned to him. "You have it, right?"

He nodded and went digging through a messenger bag slung over his shoulders. He groaned, apparently not being able to find what he was searching for. "Dammit. Leo drilled us on how to set these things up a million times, but I'm still not sure we did it the right way." Nico pulled out a small device finally. "Here it is." He eyed Annabeth then looked to Reyna. "In front of her? Are you sure?"

Reyna nodded. "I trust her. Just do it."

Annabeth's breath caught. Realization came crashing down on her.

No, it couldn't be.

But Frank had already brought out the spray can, and Nico was already slamming his thumb down on the detonator button.

And Annabeth watched the building go up in a beautifully destructive explosion, lighting the night sky.

The Gods. These were the Gods.

 **Okay so I really wish I could right more. But I'm blank. This chapter was really short and stupid, but A for effort.**

 **Yours in demigodishness and all that - J**


	4. Techies in Mechanic Land

**Chapter Four: Techies In Mechanic Land**

Annabeth stared at the building. She was completely motionless, expression steely, unreadable. She didn't know what to think.

Her feet told her to run. But from what? The Gods? Screamers? They wanted to just keep running, not sure where to go or what to do after, just to run.

Her heart wanted to go back to her not-so-cozy sewer, pretend it didn't happen, and go on living life the way she had always been. But she knew she couldn't do that. She could never go back there again.

Her gut told her to stick with the Gods. This is what she had been imagining for years on end whenever she was alone. She thought about the Gods more than she'd like to admit, imagining what it would be like to meet other people like her. They'd given her hope. And now she saw her chance.

Each of the Gods watched to see what she was thinking. Hazel seemed to be the only one to truly see her conflict, something intelligent and understanding beneath the younger girl's eyes. Annabeth quickly snapped herself back to reality. She locked eyes with Hazel's gold ones for a brief moment.

Annabeth finally decided she wasn't going anywhere. The Gods seemed surprised when she didn't move.

"We better hurry," Frank suddenly said, breaking their silence. After he finished spraying a sentence on the side of the demolished building, he tossed the spray paint can to Nico, who put it in his messenger bag. "We have to get back to the Temple before morning, and we're traveling by foot."

Reyna nodded and began leading the group forward, eyes expertly scanning her surroundings. "This place has to be crawling with Screamers already."

They moved silently. Annabeth wasn't sure if it was because of the Screamers, or if it was because they were all lost in thought, probably thinking about her.

As they walked on, she kept her posture steely. Gaze fixed ahead of her, expression guarded and unreadable. She wouldn't give them the satisfaction.

* * *

She recognized the direction they were going in because she used to live there. An entire neighborhood in New York of stone buildings and small streets filled with shops and small cozy apartments. The war had mostly affected that area, other than the Wasteland. It was devastating to look at. Annabeth had only been there once after the bombs had dropped, leaving nothing but rubble. She wasn't too happy about going in that direction, but she kept on that steely expression that she'd always had after so many years.

Annabeth had too many questions to count, but she didn't want the Gods to make her feel stupid. Her first question was asking what the heck the Temple was. Why were they going to a temple? They must've been serious about this whole 'Gods" thing.

She hadn't realized it before, but now she noticed Hazel slowing down to walk beside Annabeth, who was at the back of the group.

Hazel tried for a sincere smile. "Sorry you had to meet us this way, but I suppose there really would be no other way. You're the only Rogue we've met in years. The last one we picked up was me."

Rogue. That must've been their word for people like her.

Annabeth shrugged. "I've known about you guys for a long time." What she really wanted to say was: Are you guys always this hospitable with every random stranger you meet? but she kept her mouth shut.

"So how long have you been out here? You look like you've been surviving on your own for a while." Hazel must've noticed the bit of anger and sadness flickering across Annabeth's face, because then she quickly said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry." She stared down at her had ns innocently.

For some reason, Hazel made Annabeth feel guilty. She sighed and shook her head. "No, really, it's fine. I've been out here since I was seven."

Hazel's eyes went wide and she breathed in hard. "How old are you now?"

"I turned nineteen today. That's twelve years. I wasn't always alone, though."

Luckily, Hazel didn't ask about Annabeth not always being alone. Instead, she said, "Happy Birthday."

Annabeth almost laughed bitterly but decided that she like Hazel and that might be rude. It was such a strange, simple phrase. It was so foreign, so normal, to Annabeth's ears. She hadn't heard anyone say those words since she was twelve. It almost made her feel like old, seven-year-old Annabeth again, sitting with her father and the rest of her family at the dinner table, about to blow out her candles on her cake. She batted the thought away.

A simple "Thanks" was all she said.

They continued on walking, side by side, not saying a word. Soon she could see the buildings of her old neighborhood and swallowed the lump forming in her throat. It was too dull, too lonely, too tragic, for Annabeth to look at it. She felt the hole in her chest returning, not sure if she should cry or scream. Some of the buildings still stood with only chunks blown out, but half of them were in the rubble. No one had been in this destroyed ghost town in a long time, and it showed. At least that was the way it seemed. If this Temple place they were talking about was here, the Gods must've been excellent at disguising it.

They trudged through the streets covered in gray ash and rubble. Annabeth noticed how the Gods easily made it through like they knew it from walking the same path a million times before. They probably did. Annabeth managed to follow their confident suit as they wove through and hopped over pieces if buildings. She concluded that the Temple was definitely here. Somewhere hidden.

Suddenly the Gods stopped. Hazel grabbed Annabeth by the arm, saving her from crashing into Nico in front of her, and whispered in her ear, "This is it."

Annabeth looked up.

Was this a joke?

The building they stood in front of used to be a rugged stone building, probably originally five stories tall at the most. All but the crumbling first floor had been destroyed. She could see straight into it well, thanks to the missing door.

Nico noticed Annabeth's confused expression and chuckled. The rest said nothing and walked through the empty doorway one by one. The inside revealed it to be a lobby of some apartment building. Annabeth fought a sneeze as dust rained down on them. She watched her feet carefully to avoid chunks of concrete building. The lobby was destroyed, obviously, but a lot of it was still intact. The front desk was still there, along with two sofas and a giant ratty Persian rug over the ugly hardwood floor.

Reyna bent down and slid away the Persian rug. Annabeth almost laughed. It was so obvious. Even though it looked like a normal section of floor, Annabeth knew what it was. If Screamers ever came here, they would realize it too.

Reyna knocked a pattern on the floor, and suddenly the section of hardwood paneling swung in and opened, leading into darkness. Who had time to make this? A slim figure could be seen standing there, the blackness, a single strand of sunlight illuminating his leather shoes. Annabeth could clearly tell it was a male. There must've been a room down there because he was lounging against one of the walls…snoring?

Nico jumped into the dark hole before Annabeth could blink. His figure almost became the blackness, morphing into shadow. He stepped forward, smacking the boy over the head with the back of his hand.

"Leo!" Nico hissed.

Leo nearly jumped out of his skin, now wide awake, immediately straightening out. He stepped more clearly into the light, squinting up at the rest of the dirty, tired teenagers.

The first thing Annabeth noticed was the tool belt, the sun glinting off the equipment inside, and the fact that Leo was coated in grease and grime. He didn't seem to notice or care. He was Latino maybe, and around sixteen with crazy brown curls and matching mischievous brown eyes. He smiled, giving them the impish grin of a jokester.

"Hola, hermano," he said to Nico, still smiling like a mad man. No, not smiling. Grinning. To Annabeth, he was one if those people who didn't smile—they grinned.

He looked back up, his expression suddenly giving away that he noticed Annabeth for the first time. She folded her arms, stone-faced.

"Who's the chica? Haven't seen a new Rogue in years."

Reyna jumped into the void next. Annabeth followed, disguising her nervousness. The floor wasn't that far down. She wished that they would turn on the lights or something. She definitely wasn't afraid of the dark, but specific crawling things that were in the dark…

She shuddered internally at the thought. That's why she liked the sewer above all hiding spots. It was too wet for the little bastards down there.

"Annabeth," came the blonde's simple reply. She stepped back, allowing room for the next two.

Frank jumped in and offered a hand to Hazel. Hazel gave him a thankful smile and accepted his hand. Annabeth could tell it was just out of politeness, however. There wasn't a doubt Hazel could do it on her own.

Leo waited till they were all inside then slammed his fist against the blackness, into what was presumably a button. The door in the floor above them slid shut, sealing off any possible light. Annabeth remembered how scared she used to be afraid of the dark and instinctively almost reached out of Thalia's hand, like how ten-year-old Annabeth used to do. This time she stopped herself.

Then, with the hum of dull electricity that only a well-trained ear like Annabeth's could hear, lights buzzed on one at a time. Track lights, running down and illuminating a cold, long concrete hallway that seemed to stretch on forever.

At least she could see now.

Annabeth looked over at Leo. In the wall behind him was a panel full of wires, buttons, levers, and blinking lights. It looked complicated, but Annabeth could understand some of it. She'd read too many mechanical books in her free time and had hacked and rewired many of the Empire's equipment and devices.

"Follow me," Leo said, motioning down the hall for Annabeth in a somewhat gentlemanly way. Nico and Reyna rolled their eyes in almost perfect unison. Annabeth could tell Leo was doing it for show.

He led them down the hall in silence, the only noise in silence the echoing of their footsteps and the sound of Leo's tool belt bouncing against his thy in rhythm with his gait. It did feel like they were walking forever. They went down three staircases until they stopped at the end and took a turn, walking down another hallway exactly like the last. This one finished with a dead end. A cold, gray stone wall. Annabeth had been stiff, on edge the whole time, memorizing every turn and path they took. In case she needed to run.

Leo ran his fingers along the edges of the wall, almost like he was looking for something. Hazel sighed and copied him, but unlike him, she found what they must've been searching for. She pressed her fingers in and suddenly, on hinges Annabeth had never noticed before, it slowly swung open, metal screeching against metal.

Annabeth flinched at the noise and looked at Leo. "Smooth," she commented.

He just grinned like the madman that he probably was.

"It's supposed to be locked," Nico muttered to Leo.

"Whoops." The Latino boy shrugged, not even seeming the least bit apologetic. He stepped aside from the opened door and raised his arms in an overdramatic reveal. "Welcome to the Temple, chica."

Once the soundproof door opened, she could hear them now. They were all her own age or younger, maybe a little bit older sometimes, and all covered in grease and sweat like they had been working hard. Annabeth stepped in and absorbed in her surroundings. The place was huge. She could see giant doors on two of the walls, probably leading farther and farther into other rooms and halls.

The Temple, Annabeth realized, was a humongous bunker. The Gods' headquarters.

The room was filled with the scent of grease, oil, mechanics, and occasionally smoke. Leo led them past stolen empire equipment that some were working on, rewiring and rebuilding. There were inventions and automobiles of the Gods' own as well.

"The workshop," Hazel said to all of them, but more directly to Annabeth.

"My home when Jason doesn't throw me on front door duty." Leo took in a deep breath, somehow enjoying the smell.

"How hasn't the Empire found this place?" Annabeth's eyes flicked to a girl running passed like a maniac, her sleeve on fire. She dove for a bucket of water and dipper her arm in it.

Leo sighed, watching the girl go. "That's my cue. It's my turn to work on the Rover. Zhang, you've got guard duty." He turned to face them, saluted lazily with two fingers to his brow, and backed away into Mechanic Land.

Frank Zhang sighed, waved goodbye to the group that now only consisted of Nico, Annabeth, Reyna, and Hazel.

"The radiation protects us from their detection," Reyna explained once they were back to talking about the topic at hand. "There were more bombs dropped in this place during the war than the Wasteland, believe it or not. Screamers and the Empire won't even go near here. It makes their sensors go haywire. They're scared."

Annabeth almost visibly flinched but kept herself still. More bombs dropped in this area than anywhere else. She already knew that. She'd lived through it.

"Why doesn't the radiation affect us?" Annabeth questioned. They kept walking forward to the doors on the other end of the bunker. "If it really is strong enough to throw off equipment as high tech as the Empire's and scare Screamers, it should be deadly to us down here."

"Leo and his regiment are geniuses when it comes to this kind of techie stuff." Reyna motioned with her arm around the bunker. Annabeth noticed balconies and terraces above her that she hadn't seen before. "Believe it or not, and even though their equipment looks like it comes straight out of the Wasteland—because it does—they can sometimes be smarter than the Empire. They've been keeping us safe from the radiation and off the grid for years. Don't tell Leo and his unit that I said any of this, though. His head is already big enough as it is."

"And where am I going?" inquired Annabeth, arching a brow.

They reached the giant door at the end of the bunker. It resembled a garage door. A techie slammed a button next to it and it slowly began to rise.

"Not living quarters, yet," Hazel finally replied. "Not until your regiment is decided."

Reyna gave a smile, something that seemed so foreign to the girl's face, and Annabeth couldn't help but relate.

"I think it's time you met Percy."

 **This chapter is more of a filler, to be honest. I'M SO SORRY THIS TOOK ME A MONTH. February and March are going to be super busy for me and they already are, but over the summer I'll be writing like a maniac.**

 **You should skip this A/N**

 **THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS. I never knew random strangers could make me so happy and you're all such nice people. THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING. You are all inspiring me to keep writing with your wonderful words. And I'll start being more careful about punctuation and grammar errors. I am a grammar nazi and a hypocrite since I tend to make many typos. I'll start reading over these chapters more carefully.**

 **Once again, thank you all so much and feel free to ask any questions or say your opinion in the comments. constructive criticism is welcome.**

 **yours in demigodishness and all that**

 **-j**


End file.
